Rushed score

In 1891, famed ballet master Marius Petipa contacted a Russian composer named Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and asked him if he would be willing to write a score for a new ballet he had in mind. It was based on a German children’s story by E. T. A. Hoffman.

It was an unlikely subject for a ballet, but Tchaikovsky was desperate for money at the time and accepted the commission even though it would have to be done in a hurry. He pushed himself and was able to scratch out an entire ballet in two acts in less than a year.

The result of the combined masters’ efforts was a little ballet known as “The Nutcracker,” which has become the most often-staged ballet in the world. Tchaikovsky’s score is now the default music for the holiday season.

Go into any mall in December and you’ll likely be able to pick out the tunes of “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” “Waltz of the Flowers,” or the “Russian Dance.”

Not too bad for a quick buck, eh?

“‘The Nutcracker’ was a rush job, isn’t that amazing?” says Anthony Sellars, a long-time professional ballet dancer and now the artistic director of the Ballet Repertory Theater at the Orange County Dance Center.

Sellars has been a part of one production of the ballet or another since he was 9 years old. For the past 31 years, Sellars and his wife, Terri, the dance company’s ballet mistress, have guided Ballet Repertory students in staging the iconic work at the Golden West College Mainstage Theater.

Though the steps are the same each year, the parts are usually filled by a different pair of toe shoes. “The Nutcracker” is the biggest production of the year for the dance group, which calls on all 255 of the center’s students to fill the roles.

The well-known Christmas story is a production the children get excited about in summer. “The kids are an inspiration; they start talking about ‘The Nutcracker’ in July,” Terri Sellars says.

Since the production is an annual staple of the Repertory’s repertoire, the dancers often perform it many times over the years and will have often performed in nearly every role at some point in their career with the group.

“It’s years of different experience,” said Josh Hains, who plays the Cavalier in this year’s ballet.

Each new generation of dancers is taken under the wings of those who came before them. It creates a unique sense of community among the talented dancers. Randi Galbraith, 23, has danced in the production since she was 7. She has filled the role of Sugar Plum Fairy for six years and says the tight bonds help the show come together.

“It’s like a big family; we’ve all grown up together,” Galbraith says. “I’m kind of like everyone’s sister.”

Dancing the role never gets old, Galbraith says. Every time they step on stage is an opportunity for her and all the dancers to enhance their performance.

“There’s always something for me to improve,” says Galbraith.

That improvement takes a lot of time, practice, and patience. The work put in by the students will be reflected in front of the audience, and they know it.

“Classes are the prerequisite to perform,” says Nicole Syzdek, an honors high school student who will also be playing the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Like Syzdek, Delany Buccola also balances honors classes with her dance schedule, plus extracurricular activities.

“This hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to work really hard for it,” she said.

The Sellars work with the dancers to polish their en pointe performances. While the steps have been nearly unchanged for 31 years, each dancer brings a different set of talents to the table. This gives the individual dancer an opportunity to personalize their stage presence.

The effort sees dancers leaping across the stage in fine costumes and even finer form. They are lifted in the air where they bend and defy the rules of human flexibility. It’s a process that benefits both the audiences, who fill Golden West’s theater regularly, and the artists.

“The audience gasps,” Galbraith says, “and it’s like, ‘Yes! I got ’em!’”

IF YOU GO

Who: Ballet Repertory Theater

What: “The Nutcracker”

When: Dec. 8-24, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus Christmas Eve.

Where: Golden West College Mainstage Theater, 15744 Goldenwest St.

Cost: $15 for adults, $14 for seniors, and $13 for children 12 and younger.